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Golden Gate Capital

BOCA RATON, Fla.—The ADT Corp. announced this morning that it plans to acquire Devcon Security from Golden Gate Capital for $148.5 million. The deal—ADT’s first major acquisition since spinning off from Tyco International last fall—brings 117,000 accounts and $3.6 million of RMR. The transaction is expected to close in early August, Naren Gursahaney, ADT CEO, said during an investor call today.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla.— Devcon Security has undergone dramatic changes in the past few years: a rapid expansion, then an even faster downsizing and also a management shake-up. Now, an even bigger change—ADT’s announcement today that it has signed a deal to acquire Devcon for $148.5 million—is a welcome one, Devcon CEO Steve Hafen told Security Systems News.

NEW YORK—At the Imperial Capital Security Investor Conference here on Dec. 13, Devcon’s chairman of the board, Christopher Munday, spoke frankly about the company’s challenges in the past couple of years—including an ill-fated branch expansion. He confirmed that the company is actively seeking a buyer and shared several operating and financial metrics to support his assertion that the company is on strong footing.

OREM, Utah—Pinnacle Security, a leading summer-sales-model company based here, recently announced an alliance with Monitronics International in which Pinnacle has sold Monitronics about 93,000 accounts and made an agreement for future account sales. The accounts represent $4.4 million of gross RMR, according to a news release.

I reported this summer that Devcon Security, a Hollywood, Fla.-based super-regional, was planning to shut down its new 23,000-square-foot national operations center in Irving, Texas by the end of the year.

Now it appears the closing will take place next month. Devcon plans to close the facility Sept. 5, laying off 197 employees, according to a report this week by the Dallas Business Journal. The facility opened in February 2011.

CEO Steve Hafen previously told me that closing the center was part of a company plan to reduce expenses and strengthen the company’s finances for future profitability and growth.

The company also is closing branches nationwide, a reversal of a rapid expansion it had recently undergone. In the past 18 months, Devcon, acquired by San Francisco-based Golden Gate Capital in 2009, transformed itself into a national player with more than 50 branches around the nation.

Hafen previously told me: “Devcon has experienced many changes over the past 18 months, including an aggressive growth initiative and subsequent streamlining of some branch operations.” He said then a reduction in the company’s workforce was anticipated.

The business journal reported that Devcon issued a statement saying that it “has aimed to, and has already made progress on, helping displaced employees transition into new opportunities through job fairs and résumé assistance programs. Devcon Security believes that these changes, while challenging, will strengthen the company and enable more opportunities for those in the industry long term.”

HOLLYWOOD, Fla.—Devcon Security—a super-regional based here that grew to a national player in the past year and a half—is downsizing to reduce expenses and strengthen the company’s finances for future profitability and growth, according to Devcon’s new CEO, Steve Hafen.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla.—After a rapid expansion during the past 18 months, Devcon Security is streamlining its business but is still planning to grow nationwide, according to the company’s new CEO, Steve Hafen.